The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest

The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest
Author :
Publisher : University of Iowa Press
Total Pages : 132
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781587299537
ISBN-13 : 1587299534
Rating : 4/5 (534 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest by : Dave Williams

Download or read book The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest written by Dave Williams and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2010-04-15 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Settlers crossing the tallgrass prairie in the early 1800s were greeted by a seemingly endless landscape of wildflowers and grasses, one of the most diverse ecosystems on our planet. Today, although the tallgrass prairie has been reduced to a tiny percentage of its former expanse, people are working to restore and reconstruct prairie communities. This lavishly illustrated guide to seeds and seedlings, crafted by Tallgrass Prairie Center botanist Dave Williams and illustrator Brent Butler, will insure that everyone from urban gardeners to grassland managers can properly identify and germinate seventy-two species of tallgrass wildflowers and grasses in eastern North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, Iowa, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, northwestern Missouri, and eastern Oklahoma. Williams has created a brilliant, nearly foolproof system of identification and verification. Two primary keys lead to eleven secondary keys that link to characteristic groups of tallgrass plants: seven groups for wildflowers and four groups for grasses. To identify a seedling, use the primary key to discover its place in the secondary key, then turn to that characteristic group to find your seedling. Circles on each full seedling photograph correspond to close-up photographs; triangles on these close-ups illustrate information in the text to further pinpoint identification. Drawings of leaves illuminate exact identification, and enlarged photographs of each seed provide yet another way to confirm identification. Thousands of seeds were sprouted in the Tallgrass Prairie Center’s greenhouse to provide seedlings close in size and development to those grown in the field near the end of their first season; research and photography took place over four years. Williams’s text for each species includes a thorough description, a comparison of similar species, and guidance for germination and growth. A complete glossary supports the text, which is concise but detailed enough to be accessible to beginning prairie enthusiasts. Anyone in the Upper Midwest who wishes to preserve the native vegetation of prairie remnants or reconstruct a tallgrass prairie of whatever size—from home gardens to schoolyards to roadsides to large acreages—will benefit from the hundreds of photographs and drawings and the precise text in this meticulously prepared guide.


The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest Related Books

The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest
Language: en
Pages: 132
Authors: Dave Williams
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-04-15 - Publisher: University of Iowa Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Settlers crossing the tallgrass prairie in the early 1800s were greeted by a seemingly endless landscape of wildflowers and grasses, one of the most diverse eco
The Prairie in Seed
Language: en
Pages: 138
Authors: Dave Williams
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-04-01 - Publisher: University of Iowa Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The tallgrass prairie offers solutions to the many environmental challenges facing our water, soils, and ecosystems. Planting prairie on just 10 percent of a fi
The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest
Language: en
Pages: 343
Authors: Daryl Smith
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-04-15 - Publisher: University of Iowa Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"This manual, by four of the most knowledgeable prairie restorationists in the Upper Midwest, brings together absolutely everything that anyone, regardless of b
A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction
Language: en
Pages: 78
Authors: Carl Kurtz
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-08 - Publisher: University of Iowa Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Thirty-five years and many acres after planting his first patch of prairie flowers, Carl Kurtz is considered one of the deans of the great tallgrass prairie rev
An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants
Language: en
Pages: 264
Authors: Paul Christiansen
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 1999 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This guide to the prairie plants native to Iowa provides all the information necessary for identifying and distinguishing even the most similar species. Species